Current Travel Health News

Dengue fever is an endemic disease in most Southeast Asian countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines. Travellers visiting these places are advised to protect themselves against mosquitoes all year round.

The recent dengue fever activity in Asia has been more severe. Various popular tourist attractions among Hong Kong people including Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia, observed recent persistent increase in the number of dengue fever cases. Other neighbouring Asian countries such as Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Pakistan and India, also recorded rising dengue fever activities.

Outbreaks of dengue fever were observed in Guangdong province in China, Brazil, Costa Rica, Columbia, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic in the recent year.. It was expected that dengue fever activities will continue to rise in coming months in Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Travellers planning to travel in these areas should take precautions against the disease.

Cumulative reported number of dengue cases since 01/01/2013 *

	Cumulative reported no. of cases since 01/01/2013	Source of information and date of report
Brazil	1,451,432	World Health Organization, 13 January 2014
Cambodia	16,722	World Health Organization, 28 January 2014
China   Guangdong province	2,900	Department of Health of Guangdong Province, 15 January 2014
India	70, 767	Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, India, 28 December 2013
Mexico	231,498	World Health Organization, 13 January 2014
Philippines	166,107	World Health Organization, 28 January 2014
Taiwan	887	CDC, ROC (Taiwan), 10 February 2014
Vietnam	60,588	World Health Organization, 28 January 2014

Cumulative reported number of dengue cases since 01/01/2014 *

	Cumulative reported no. of cases since 01/01/2014	Source of information and date of report
Australia	65	World Health Organization, 28 January 2014
Lao PDR	42	World Health Organization, 28 January 2014
Malaysia	2,985	World Health Organization, 28 January 2014
New Caledonia	9	World Health Organization, 28 January 2014
Singapore	2,099	Singapore National Environment Agency, 9 February 2014
Sri Lanka	3,285	Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka, 7 February 2014
Thailand	1,016	Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, 4 February 2014

Remark:
* Dengue reporting systems vary by country.

Travellers should stay vigilant against dengue fever and adopt the following personal preventive measures against mosquito bite:

*	Always wear long-sleeved clothing and trousers;
*	Stay in air-conditioned residence or places with mosquito screens;
*	If mosquito screen or air-conditioning is absent, aerosol insecticide and bed nets are advised;
*	Use insect repellents containing DEET on exposed skin and clothing;
*	Use insect repellents containing DEET apart from applying sunscreen while staying in beaches;
*	Carry a portable bed nets and apply permethrin on it as well as to clothes if travelling to rural areas where dengue fever is prevalent.

Travellers returning from areas where dengue fever is prevalent should seek medical advice as soon as possible if they feel unwell and provide travel details to their doctors.

 The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) is closely monitoring four additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) respectively in Shenzhen, Zhaoqing, Zhejiang and Anhui according to the latest reports of the Mainland health authorities. The case in Shenzhen involves a woman aged 81 who died on February 7. The case in Zhaoqing is a boy aged 11 currently hospitalised for treatment. The cases in Zhejiang and Anhui are two men aged 68 and 66 respectively. Both are under treatment in hospital. As of 9 February, a total of 324 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been confirmed in the Mainland, including Zhejiang (128 cases), Guangdong (60 cases), Shanghai (41 cases), Jiangsu (40 cases), Fujian (20 cases), Hunan (nine cases), Jiangxi (six cases), Anhui (five cases), Beijing (four cases), Henan (four cases), Guangxi (three cases), Shandong (two cases), Guizhou (one case, imported from Zhejiang) and Hebei (one case).

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) is closely monitoring a total of three additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) confirmed respectively in Zhejiang, Hunan and Jiangsu (one case each), according to the latest reports of the Mainland health authorities. The case in Zhejiang involves a man aged 61 who is now hospitalised for treatment. He is in critical condition. The case in Hunan is a man aged 38 while that in Jiangsu is a man aged 53. Both are currently under treatment in hospital.  As of 8 February, a total of 320 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been confirmed in the Mainland, including Zhejiang (127 cases), Guangdong (58 cases), Shanghai (41 cases), Jiangsu (40 cases), Fujian (20 cases), Hunan (nine cases), Jiangxi (six cases), Anhui (four cases), Beijing (four cases), Henan (four cases), Guangxi (three cases), Shandong (two cases), Guizhou (one case, imported from Zhejiang) and Hebei (one case).

More than 1000 measles cases, including one death, were reported in Guinea since 7 February.

One person has died of rabies in Limpopo province, South Africa this week.

A norovirus outbreak was reported last week on a Caribbean cruise ship namely Explorer of the Seas and almost 700 on board were affected.

 The Department of Health (DH) is closely monitoring an additional case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to the WHO, the male patient aged 66 from Abu Dhabi has underlying illnesses. He developed upper respiratory tract illness on January 20 and was hospitalised on January 24 for pneumonia and renal failure. The case was laboratory confirmed on January 30. He is now under intensive care in stable condition. The patient owns camels in the UAE and he travelled to Oman from January 20 where he had contact with camels. Contact tracing and epidemiological investigation are ongoing. This brings the latest global number of confirmed cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome to 182, including 79 deaths.

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) received notification of seven additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) respectively in Zhaoqing (two cases) and Guangzhou (one case) from the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province; and in Zhejiang (two cases), Hunan and Fujian (one case each) from the National Health and Family Planning Commission. The cases in Zhaoqing involve two men aged 48 and 62, while that in Guangzhou is a woman aged 59. All of them are now hospitalised for treatment. The cases in Zhejiang include a man aged 54 and a woman aged 76. The case in Hunan is a woman aged 21. They are under treatment in hospital. The case in Fujian was a man aged 81 who died on February 6. As of 7 February, a total of 317 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been confirmed in the Mainland, including Zhejiang (126 cases), Guangdong (58 cases), Shanghai (41 cases), Jiangsu (39 cases), Fujian (20 cases), Hunan (eight cases), Jiangxi (six cases), Anhui (four cases), Beijing (four cases), Henan (four cases), Guangxi (three cases), Shandong (two cases), Guizhou (one case, imported from Zhejiang) and Hebei (one case).

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) yesterday (February 6) received notification of eight additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) respectively in Foshan (one case) from the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, and in Guangxi (one case), Beijing (one case), Hunan (one case), Jiangsu (two cases) and Zhejiang (two cases) from the National Health and Family Planning Commission. The case in Foshan involves a woman aged 36 who is now hospitalised for treatment. The case in Guangxi is a boy aged 5 who is the son of an earlier confirmed patient (a woman aged 41) and he is in stable condition. The case in Beijing is a man aged 73 while that in Hunan is a woman aged 61. The cases in Jiangsu are two men aged 63 and 66 while those in Zhejiang are two men aged 39 and 64. All are currently under treatment in hospital.

As of yesterday, a total of 310 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been confirmed in the Mainland, including Zhejiang (124 cases), Guangdong (55 cases), Shanghai (41 cases), Jiangsu (39 cases), Fujian (19 cases), Hunan (seven cases), Jiangxi (six cases), Anhui (four cases), Beijing (four cases), Henan (four cases), Guangxi (three cases), Shandong (two cases), Guizhou (one case, imported from Zhejiang) and Hebei (one case).

There was a significant outbreak of Chagas disease throughout Venezuela. According to the Ministry of Health, in the 1st 3 weeks of 2014, 334 cases were recorded.

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) yesterday (February 5) received notification of 10 additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) respectively in Zhaoqing (two cases), Foshan (one case) and Shenzhen (one case) from the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, and in Fujian (one case), Guangxi (one case) and Zhejiang (four cases) from the National Health and Family Planning Commission. The cases in Zhaoqing involve a girl aged 5 and a man aged 42, while those in Foshan and Shenzhen are two men aged 49 and 56 respectively. All of them are now hospitalised for treatment. The case in Fujian is a man aged 36 and that in Guangxi is a woman aged 41 with disease onset when working in Guangdong. The cases in Zhejiang involve two men aged 49 and 67 and two women aged 35 and 59. All are currently under treatment in hospital.

As of yesterday, a total of 302 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been confirmed in the Mainland, including Zhejiang (122 cases), Guangdong (54 cases), Shanghai (41 cases), Jiangsu (37 cases), Fujian (19 cases), Hunan (six cases), Jiangxi (six cases), Anhui (four cases), Henan (four cases), Beijing (three cases), Guangxi (two cases), Shandong (two cases), Guizhou (one case, imported from Zhejiang) and Hebei (one case).

A cholera outbreak was reported in the Kunene Region of Namibia and has led to the deaths of 15 people.

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) yesterday (February 4) received notification of eight additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) respectively in Zhaoqing, Yangjiang and Huizhou (one case each) from the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province; and in Jiangsu (one case) and Zhejiang (four cases) from the National Health and Family Planning Commission. The case in Zhaoqing involves a girl aged four who is now hospitalised for treatment. The cases in Yangjiang and Huizhou are two men aged 76 and 52 respectively and both died on February 3. The case in Jiangsu is a woman aged 59 who is receiving treatment in hospital. The cases in Zhejiang are four men aged 42, 51, 56 and 84 respectively who are all hospitalised for treatment.

As of yesterday, a total of 292 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been confirmed in the Mainland, including Zhejiang (118 cases), Guangdong (50 cases), Shanghai (41 cases), Jiangsu (37 cases), Fujian (18 cases), Hunan (six cases), Jiangxi (six cases), Anhui (four cases), Henan (four cases), Beijing (three cases), Shandong (two cases), Guangxi (one case), Guizhou (one case, imported from Zhejiang) and Hebei (one case).

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) yesterday (February 3) received notification of four additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) respectively in Zhongshan and Huizhou from the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, and in Fujian and Hunan from the National Health and Family Planning Commission. The case in Zhongshan involves a girl aged 2 while that in Huizhou is a woman aged 76. Both are hospitalised for treatment. The case in Fujian involves a man aged 27 who is now under treatment in hospital. The case in Hunan was a man aged 59 who died yesterday.

As of yesterday, a total of 284 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been confirmed in the Mainland, including Zhejiang (114 cases), Guangdong (47 cases), Shanghai (41 cases), Jiangsu (36 cases), Fujian (18 cases), Hunan (six cases), Jiangxi (six cases), Anhui (four cases), Henan (four cases), Beijing (three cases), Shandong (two cases), Guangxi (one case), Guizhou (one case, imported from Zhejiang) and Hebei (one case).

WHO has been notified of an additional laboratory-confirmed case of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Globally, from September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a total of 181 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 79 deaths.

The Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Cambodia reported the 1st human case of Avian Influenza H5N1 in 2014. The1st case was a 5-year-old boy from Kampong Thom province.

The Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) received notification on February 2 of two additional human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) respectively in Guangdong (two cases) from the Health and Family Planning Commission of Guangdong Province, and in Zhejiang (one case), Hunan (one case) and Fujian (one case) from the National Health and Family Planning Commission. The two cases in Guangdong involve two men aged 37 and 63. The 37-year-old patient is now hospitalised for treatment while the 63-year-old patient passed away on February 1. The case in Zhejiang involves a man aged 44. He is now under treatment in hospital. The case in Hunan involves a girl aged 8 who is now hospitalized for treatment. The case in Fujian involves a man aged 35. He is now under treatment in hospital. As of February 2, a total of 280 human cases of avian influenza A(H7N9) have been confirmed in the Mainland, including Zhejiang (114 cases), Shanghai (41 cases), Jiangsu (36 cases), Guangdong (45 cases), Fujian (17 cases), Jiangxi (six cases), Anhui (four cases), Henan (four cases), Hunan (five cases), Beijing (three cases), Shandong (two cases), Hebei (one case), Guizhou (one case, imported from Zhejiang) and Guangxi (one case). 

Over 254 Leishmaniasis cases were reported in January in Landikotal, Pakistan.